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Contact hours per week

A contact hour per week, in German Semesterwochenstunde (SWS), is one 45-minute teaching session held once a week across a full semester. The figure describes the contact time a course requires, not its total workload.

German higher education term

SWS, Semesterwochenstunde

contact hours per week

Two SWS come to about 30 contact hours over 15 teaching weeks. While the SWS figure measures attendance only, an ECTS credit reflects the total workload, including preparation and revision.

Medicine is among the most contact-intensive degree programmes there is: 30 to 40 SWS per semester is normal, and more in semesters with practical courses.

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